The Sun Has Returned

After at least a month of a overcast sky mixed with rainy weather the sun has returned to Bratislava. I am not kidding when I say I saw the sun for less than 10 hours total over the last month. It was just one low pressure system after another. The sun was out all day today and we should have it until Saturday. Needless to say my mood has improved greatly today. The flip side is because Bratislava is on the same parallel as Nova Scotia it gets dark early here, today at about 4:10 with less than 9 hours of sunlight per day. I have not taken any pictures because of the weather, sorry to all of you who what to see more photos but without sunshine the photos are not worth taking.

I return to the States in about 8 days and I am looking forward to seeing everyone. Of course those of you who really know me will not be surprised to learn I am only staying for 5 days. (Life Lesson - You have to leave them wanting more.)

So what have I been up to? Well most days I just surf the net for TV shows to watch or catch the news on CNN International or BBC World but of course there is never enough news to fill more than about 20 minutes. The other thing I do is watch the markets including the currency markets as the Dollar gets pounded, which sucks unless you are exporting goods. Most days I am just hanging out in the flat which for most people would drive them nuts but for me it doesn't seem to bother me, I can always find something to entertain my brain. I have found a book store that sells books in English so I have started reading more when I am bored. I am looking forward to getting home so I can go to Barnes and Noble to load up on books to bring back. I also can buy a few magazines in English and once a week I pick up Time, Newsweek and The Economist to stay current with what is going on in the world. I highly recommend The Economist as one of the best magazines you can read. It is not always the easiest thing to read but it gives you a great view of what is happening in the world.

One of the main questions I get from people in the US is "What is the food like?". For those of you who have been with me from the beginning of the blog you know how much I railed on the food in New Zealand and Australia and wrote many blog entries dealing only with how much the food sucked. That cannot be said for the food in Slovakia, here the food is very good, I have not had a dish that I didn't like. Cheese, Potatoes and Pork based meats are the main staples. The national dish is Bryndove Halusky (brins O va hAl usekey) which I enjoy and is not hard to make. I make it by going to the restaurant on the ground floor of my building and order it. What? do you think I would really cook it myself when I can get enough for two meals for about 5 bucks and 15 minutes. Most days I make a sandwich for lunch and then we try and cook something for dinner when everyone gets home. Ramen noodles are also a staple around here. (FYI - I stopped typing for 5 min. so I could make some Ramen as I get ready for Monday Night Football, yes it is almost 2am here, insomnia strikes again.) One of my favorite things to eat is...Pizza, yeah I know, "Big Shocker" but there is a great little pizza place that delivers in about 15 to 20 min. tops and they have great pizza and salads. We also go to the restaurant on the ground floor a few times a month for dinner and a beer. We also go a few times a month to "El Dorado" (a low grade "Western" feel restaurant filled with on mainly over 40 crowd dancing to singer who would not be welcome at "The Armada Room" at the Holiday Inn.) We mainly go just for drinks around every third Friday night.

The other question I get is "How are the language lessons coming?". Well I can now count to thirty but I can understand up to one hundred if they speak slowly. The 50 or so other words I know I am getting better pronouncing them. I just have not added as many words to my vocabulary as I would have liked. I ran into a technical issue with the CD and they had to ship me a new one which, by the time I figured out I had a problem, and they shipped me a new one was about 3 weeks. So I didn't get as much time to "study" as I would have liked so I am not above a 1 year old (Wait I know what you are thinking. "You have more free time than almost anyone!" What can I say, that's my story and I am sticking with it.)

O.K. it's kickoff, got to go.